Cars.com Dealer of the Year
The Cars.com Dealer of the Year Award Program, originally the DealerRater Dealer of the Year Program, was initiated in 2009. Through this award program, a select number of car dealerships throughout the United States and Canada are awarded for outstanding customer satisfaction, as expressed through customers’ online reviews posted on DealerRater and Cars.com websites.
Cars.com’s Dealer of the Year awards are given to car dealerships with the highest PowerScore™ in their brand category at both the national and state/provincial levels. Also, we offer a regional award in the U.S., which will be given to the dealerships with the highest PowerScore™ in 8 geographic regions, regardless of brand.
The number of categories represented in the Award Program has grown yearly since the program was initiated. There is an award category for every brand that has at least one qualifying dealership, as well as an award for each of the 8 geographical regions.
Criteria
To qualify for a Dealer of the Year award, a dealership must meet the following criteria:
Minimum of 25 reviews on Cars.com or DealerRater for the previous calendar year.
Minimum of 1 review in each calendar quarter of the previous calendar year.
An average rating greater than 4.0 (out of a maximum of 5.0) for reviews received during the previous calendar year.
Minimum of 1 “Sales (New)” review in the last calendar year in the Brand of the award (for Dealer of the Year DOTY National & State awards only)
Determining Winners
To rank dealerships and determine the Dealer of the Year, a PowerScore™ is calculated for each dealership on DealerRater.com. The dealership with the highest PowerScore for each award category (by brand for each State/Province, as well as nationally) will receive a Dealer of the Year award.
How does the PowerScore™ work?
A dealer’s PowerScore™ is based on its average star rating, the number of reviews, and the response rate on those reviews. We use a Bayesian algorithm to determine an eligible dealer’s PowerScore™. This score is then weighted against the site averages. Effectively, the winning dealership must score highly in review volume, average rating, and review response rate.
Regional Award Categories
Introduced in 2022, the Regional Award category is awarded to the dealership with the top PowerScore™, regardless of brand, in 8 geographic regions. The 8 regions that we will be awarding are: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Plains, Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and West. The list of states included in these regions is based on the regional breakdown used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The 2025 Dealer of the Year awards will be announced on March 11, 2025. To view results, click here.